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Melcher for Commissioner |
Edwards for Recorder Reception to follow at the Fraternal Order of Police – 801 Court St |
Aces Volleyball to hold Spring Alumnae Match
Event set for Saturday, April 16
  Alums of the University of Evansville volleyball program are welcomed back to campus in April for a special weekend that will be highlighted by a Spring Alumnae Match.
The match caps off a great weekend of action that will feature two days worth of events. On Friday, April 15, there will be a special get together for the alums at RiRa Evansville, which is located downtown. That is set to begin at 7 p.m. and a full dinner/bar menu will be available for purchase.
On Saturday, April 16, the Alumnae Match will be held from 9-11 a.m. at the Carson Center. The gym will open at 8 a.m. for warm-ups. Following the match, there will be a meet and greet from 11-11:30 that will allow the alums to meet the current staff and student-athletes.
Following the game, those in attendance are invited to lunch at Turoni’s on N. Weinbach where a full menu will be available for purchase. That weekend is also Bike Race and those in attendance are invited to stay for the festivities.
Those interested in coming back are asked to RSVP to Viera Rajcan at vr23@evansville.edu or 812-488-2217. All RSVP’s are asked to be sent by April 11. All former players are invited back for a great weekend. Match participation is not required.
Women’s Tennis to Kick off Spring Season
First year head coach Jayson Wiseman and the University of Evansville Women’s Tennis team kicks off their spring season this weekend.  The Aces start things off with a bang as it will be a busy and eventful weekend to start the season.  On Friday, they will get things started when they travel to Murray State to take on the Racers at 10:00 a.m. CST.  Upon completion of their match with the Racers, the Aces will then travel to Clarksville, TN to take on the Austin Peay Governors at 6:00 p.m. CST.  UE will wrap up the weekend on Sunday when they head to SIU Edwardsville for a 2:00 p.m. CST affair with the Cougars.
The Aces are led by lone senior Marina Moreno, who is coming off a 2014-2015 season that boasted an overall record of 14-14 in singles play.  Moreno also was able to go 17-12 in doubles play.  Moreno and the Aces look to improve off their 11-9 overall record in 2015.  They also look to improve upon their 3-4 mark in conference play.
UE also features juniors Andjela Brguljan, Elizabeth Mendes, and new transfer Katie Delgado, who joins the Aces from Tyler Junior College in Tyler, TX.  Evansville sophomores include Kennedy Craig and Leah Helpingstine.  Craig saw significant action as a freshman when she compiled a singles record of 20-10 and a doubles record of 12-11.  The last two players on the roster for the Aces are Doreen Crasta and Marine Darzyan, both of which are freshmen.  Both Crasta and Darzyan are coming off solid fall campaigns for the Aces.
UE will spend almost the first month of their season on the road.  After this weekend the Aces will be in Chattanooga, TN on February 12th to take on Chattanooga.  The first home action for the Aces will be on February 27th when they take on both UT Martin and Eastern Illinois.
Riecken calls attention to serious problems with current body cams legislation
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Eagles falter down the stretch, lose 82-78
INDIANAPOLIS 82, SOUTHERN INDIANA 78
INDIANAPOLIS (15-3, 9-1 GLVC)
Loyd, Jordan 5-11 12-15 24; Barker, Lucas 5-8 2-3 15; Rambo, Tyler 5-8 2-3 12; Maize, Ernest 4-6 3-3 11; Davidson, Eric 3-5 0-0 7; King, Jimmy 2-5 0-0 5; Retic, Joe 1-3 2-2 4; Etherington, Alex 1-6 0-0 2; Crocker, Jamel 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 27-55 21-26 82.
SOUTHERN INDIANA (13-7, 5-5 GLVC)
Stein, Alex 6-9 4-4 16; Edwards, George 7-10 1-3 15; Taylor, Jeril 4-15 4-4 12; Britt, Travis 4-6 0-0 11; Tisdell, T.J. 3-4 5-7 11; Norman, Jacob 1-1 2-2 4; Seniour, Shane 2-5 0-0 4; Macklin, Cortez 1-3 0-0 3; Drummond, Bobo 1-9 0-0 2; Carter, Davis 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-62 16-20 78.
Indianapolis………………Â Â 41Â Â 41Â -Â Â 82
Southern Indiana…………..  40  38 -  78
3-point goals–Indianapolis 7-16 (Barker, Lucas 3-4; Loyd, Jordan 2-4; King, Jimmy 1-2; Davidson, Eric 1-3; Etherington, Alex 0-2; Retic, Joe 0-1), Southern Indiana 4-21 (Britt, Travis 3-4; Macklin, Cortez 1-2; Taylor, Jeril 0-6; Seniour, Shane 0-2; Drummond, Bobo 0-6; Stein, Alex 0-1). Fouled out–Indianapolis-None, Southern Indiana-Tisdell, T.J.. Rebounds–Indianapolis 33 (Maize, Ernest 8), Southern Indiana 33 (Taylor,
Jeril 8). Assists–Indianapolis 10 (Loyd, Jordan 5), Southern Indiana 15 (Taylor, Jeril 3; Drummond, Bobo 3; Britt, Travis 3; Edwards, George 3). Total fouls–Indianapolis 17, Southern Indiana 22. Technical fouls–Indianapolis-None, Southern Indiana-None. A-1407 UIndy is ranked 22nd in the D2SIDA NCAA II Media Top 25.
Aces earn exciting 85-78 win at Southern Illinois
Evansville is back home Sunday to face Wichita State
 CARBONDALE, Ill. – One of the most exciting games in recent memory took place at SIU Arena as the University of Evansville men’s basketball team staged a late comeback in regulation before earning an 85-78 overtime win over Southern Illinois on Thursday evening.
Trailing by seven inside of four minutes remaining, Evansville (18-4, 7-2 MVC) fought its way back. Mislav Brzoja, who set his career mark with 25 points, nailed a three to tie it up in the final minute. After Southern Illinois (18-4, 7-2 MVC) hit a triple with six seconds left, UE had one last chance to send it to overtime. The Aces called two time outs to set up a last-second play. D.J. Balentine made it count, nailing a triple with a second left to send it to overtime. In the extra session, the Aces outscored the Salukis, 14-7, to take the win.
“This was a great game, both teams deserved to win,†head coach Marty Simmons said. “What makes tonight feel good is that SIU is a really good team and this is such a hard place to play. Winning in this league is extremely difficult.â€
Balentine matched Brzoja’s team-high of 25 tallies. He drilled two buzzer beaters in the game, including the most important one that sent the game to OT.
“To come out with a win is great for us,†Balentine said. “We knew that we had two timeouts left and we were able to set up that last play. I did not have much room on that play, but we do it every day in practice and I knew it was good when I let it go.â€
Jaylon Brown finished with 15 points for UE while Egidijus Mockevicius had 10 points and a game-high 8 rebounds. The Aces shot 55.4% on the night while holding SIU to 44.8%. The Salukis finished with a 39-26 edge in rebounding.
Anthony Beane hit 10 shots to scored 30 points while Sean O’Brien finished with 16.
For the second game in a row, the Aces got off to a slow start as the Salukis opened up a 7-2 advantage in the opening minutes. Evansville came back to score the next four points before SIU scored seven in a row, including a trey by Anthony Beane, to go up 14-6. Their lead reached double figures for the first time at 18-7 before Mislav Brzoja countered on the next possession with a triple.
Midway through the half, SIU took their largest lead of 13 points at 27-14. Evansville was able finish the half on an 18-8 run to trail by just three points at the half. D.J. Balentine capped off the period with a triple, marking his 11th point of the half. His bucket at the buzzer sent UE to the locker room down 35-32.
Egidijus Mockevicius dunked it on the first possession of the second half before a Balentine triple tied it up at 37-37. A 13-5 run saw the Salukis go back up by 8 with just over 14 minutes left at 50-42 before UE scored 11 in a row to take its first lead of the game. Back-to-back 3-point possessions by Brzoja started the run before Jaylon Brown capped it off with a triple.
Southern Illinois would retake the lead and push that advantage to seven points at 66-59 with 3:31 remaining. Evansville cut the gap to one, converting on three baskets in a row to make it a 66-65 contest under the 2-minute mark.
Down 68-65 with under a minute remaining, Brzoja got the job done once again, nailing another triple but on the ensuing play, Leo Vincent hit a three to put SIU back on top. An interesting sequence took place in the last six seconds. Purple Aces head coach Marty Simmons called consecutive time outs as the Aces inbounded the ball to get it on UE’s side of the floor.
In the last time out, Simmons set up Balentine for what would be the game-tying trey as the game went to overtime tied at 71-71.
Adam Wing opened the extra session with a long two. After Sean O’Brien put the Salukis back on top with a three, Brzoja tied his career mark with 21 points as his triple gave the Aces a 76-74 lead. The lead pushed to five points with under two minutes left as Brzoja hit a free throw to make it a 79-74 game. SIU got within one at 79-78 on a Beane triple before Balentine hit a huge layup to make it an 81-78 game with under a minute left.
Following an SIU miss, Jaylon Brown was fouled with the Aces clinging to the 3-point edge and calmly hit both free throws to go up 83-78. Balentine added two free throws for the final score of 85-78.
“This team has great character,†Brzoja said. “We never gave up, this was a great team win.â€
Evansville has now won three in a row in Carbondale, marking the first time doing so since 1996-98.
Next up for UE is Sunday’s home contest against Wichita State. The Aces welcome the Shockers into town for a 3 p.m. game that will be televised on ESPNU.
Evansville man receives maximum sentence after plea
Today an Evansville man received the maximum sentence after pleading guilty to multiple charges against him stemming from a three-vehicle wreck in July.
Jerald Clark III, 31, pleaded guilty to Auto Theft, Level 6 felony; Resisting Law Enforcement, Level 6 felony; Operating a Vehicle as a Habitual Traffic Violator, Level 6 felony; Resisting Law Enforcement, Class A misdemeanor; Leaving the Scene of an Accident, Class A misdemeanor; and Leaving the Scene of an Accident with Bodily Injury, Class A misdemeanor.
He was sentenced to 8 ½ years in the Department of Correction for those crimes.
Prosecutors noted that Clark, who has been arrested more than 35 times since 2003, has an extensive criminal history including drug and battery convictions. The prosecutor’s office is pleased with the result of the plea because he received the maximum sentence from Vanderburgh Circuit Court Magistrate Judge Michael Cox.
Slow Start Plagues IceMen in Wichita
(Thunder jump out to 3-0 lead, snap nine-game skid with win over Evansville.)
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| Scoring | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
| Evansville | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Wichita | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Shots | 1 | 2 | 3 | Total |
| Evansville | 9 | 12 | 12 | 33 |
| Wichita | 13 | 9 | 3 | 25 |
| Â | PP | Penalties |
| Evansville | 0/4 | 3 for 6 minutes |
| Wichita | 1/5 | 3 for 6 minutes |
Records:Â Â Evansville: 15-20-4-1; Wichita: 10-25-4-4
Goalies:  WIC – Shantz (W), 8-16-0-3, 31 saves
EVN – Bengtsberg L-), 4-8-2-1, 21 saves
Scoring:
1st Period: 1. WIC – Nelson 8 (Alberga, Neal, 4:00); 2. WIC – Nelson 9 (Martell, Milan, 4:14); 3. WIC – Miller 10 (Nelson, Kerbashian, 13:15); 4. EVN – Hobbs 6 (Harpur, 19:12)
2nd Period: 5. EVN – Dunn 8 (Himelson, Leveille, 8:23)
3rd Period: 6. WIC – Nelson 10 (PP, Issackson, Kerbashian, 6:06)
EDITORIAL: Parks And Recreation Smoking Ban Deserves Further Discussion
Parks And Recreation Smoking Ban Deserves Further Discussion
The City-County Observer believes the partial smoking ban recently passed by the board of the Dept. of Parks and Recreation deserves further discussion. The smoking ban includes both traditional cigarettes and electronic cigarettes, and covers all of the department’s facilities EXCEPT the golf courses, including the Par 3 courses at Howell and Wesselman parks. Also excluded from the ban are the Mesker Park Zoo and Botanical Gardens and the parks attached to those facilities. The ban does cover local neighborhood parks. We see this as problematic in several ways.
We wonder what reasoning is behind the ban’s exclusion of the largest and busiest segment of our local parks. Is it meant to give a “passâ€to the smokers who are literally “paying to play?†If so, we don’t believe such an elitist policy is in the public interest. If it is a safety issue, the Parks Board has missed the mark. In dry weather, a carelessly tossed cigarette butt could do severe damage to a golf course, wooded area of the parks or cause a terrible loss at the zoo, including the lives of the animals and/or the high-end displays.
A smoking ban with no exceptions makes better sense to us than the one that was passed, but does anyone believe that this ordinance could be enforced properly? We don’t believe that it is possible to enforce the policy at all. There are no park rangers, and EPD already seems to have its hands full keeping law and order throughout the city without hunting down smoking ban violators.
We really wonder how the board members envisioned this working out. For us, it brings to mind the famous episode of The Andy Griffith show when Gomer Pyle decided to be enforce Mayberry traffic laws on his own by making some “Citizen’s Arrests.† We can find no viable way to accomplish any semblance of enforcement.
Smoking bans are very fashionable these days, but we believe the decision to do so selectively is without merit. Promotion of healthy activities is one of the basic purposes of Parks and Recreation department’s mission, so a blanket ban would be understandable, although it would still prove unenforceable.
We think this is a “feel good†law that no one will feel good about if they stop and think about it. We hope the Parks Board will reconsidered their action.
FOOTNOTE: we wonder why member of the Parks Board are paid an extremely generous annual stipend for serving on this politically appointed board.  Other people serving on important City Boards and Commissions receive nothing?